109 HR 5979 IH: To prevent abusive practices by pharmaceutical benefit U.S. House of Representatives 2006-07-28 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5979 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 28, 2006 Mr. Boozman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To prevent abusive practices by pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs).

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Pharmaceutical Benefit Manager Abuse Prevention Act of 2006.

2.

Preventing abusive practices by pharmaceutical benefit managers

(a)

In general

A pharmaceutical benefit manager shall not engage in any of the following practices: (1)

Prohibiting self-referrals

The manager shall not refer a patient to a pharmacy or other dispenser of pharmaceuticals that is owned or affiliated with the manager. (2)

Informed consent in switching authorization

The manager shall not change the authorization for a patient of a drug to another drug without the patient’s express consent and without informing the patient of the financial consequences of effecting (or not effecting) such change. (b)

Requiring transparency

Each pharmaceutical benefit manager shall publicly disclose, in a manner specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, any kickbacks or other financial incentives or relationship that exist between the manager and any pharmaceutical manufacturer (or agent or such a manufacturer). (c)

Enforcement

The Secretary of Health and Human Services may issue such civil penalties for a violation of subsection (a), or a failure to meet the requirement of subsection (b), as the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines necessary. (d)

Effective date

This section shall take effect on the first day of the first month beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.